Eurolanche

The First European Fan Club of Colorado Avalanche Since 2007

10 years

A commentary on the occasion of Eurolanche’s 10th anniversary.

It’s here. Ten years. An awfully long time, yet it seems like it just flew by. I’ve never done anything for a longer period of time. I even went to high school for a shorter time, as I’ve attended an 8-years grammar school. Ten years is almost more than half of the time of me being an Avs fan. It’s been 17 years in total. Wow. That’s almost like a solid marriage. Truth be told, it is a marriage. At first, it was like a dream come true. With each passing year, new problems arose and while it’s in a crisis at the moment, it’s still intact. It’s a good marriage.

I’ve said it a lot during the past years. On August 12, 2007, I wrote several lines on a forum on Colorado’s website. “I’m going to start a European fan club,” were my words. No name, no logo, no ambitions. Let’s keep on discussing and we’ll see where it goes. Now, after 10 years, we’ve seen where it went. We witnessed nine Eurolanche Invasions and a lot of other activities, which I mention elsewhere. First and foremost, we’ve seen a couple of weirdos from Europe become a group cited by leading North American and European media and a group well known in the state of Colorado.

I’m very proud of Eurolanche. I’m proud that it’s become a brand, which exists on its own and continues into the future on a steady course in order to become a memorable part of history.

The Eurolanche Invasion I was like a miracle. The Eurolanche Invasion IX was like a return to a long-lost home. I’m eternally thankful for the moment I could exit the plane in Denver for the first time. It was a dream. A dream of a little boy, who used to secretly watch Colorado Avalanche games at night in his small bedroom. Suddenly, this little boy stood in the locker room of the Colorado Avalanche. Participants of the following Invasions experienced similar feelings. I’m glad that Eurolanche became like a dream factory. It’s obvious that the majority would’ve never gone to the US if it wasn’t for the Fan Club.

I think we can all be proud of ourselves. Us, who put their (free) time and effort into the Fan Club. We’ve achieved a lot and made it far. Our future steps and seasons will be even more demanding, but history already taught us that, looking back, ten years isn’t really that much. It’s all about the specific steps and acts we make. Even if some might think that we can’t achieve more, you can bet that we’ll always find a new goal we’ll want to achieve.

To achieve it in order to become an inseparable part of Colorado Avalanche history. Because if Colorado and the Avalanche will forever be connected, then so should the Colorado Avalanche and Eurolanche be.